Tell me about yourself – Interview Question

Tell me about yourself

“Tell me about yourself” is the lazy way

The “Tell me about yourself” interview question is an interview ORDER for a JOB with a BOSS that points at you with their index finger.  It is not an interview QUESTION from a manager/coach for a career or a relationship with a company.

It is just as easy to say, “Your resume is impressive. I have been looking forward to talking to you about this position. I would love to hear more about your background”. This is much less accusatory than “Tell me about yourself.”  Both statements have the same intent but different impacts.

Generate excitement 

Some managers want to grill the candidates and stress them.  Personally, and within our company, the culture is such that we want the candidate experience to be great. This is true even if we know the candidate fit isn’t there.  We want the candidate to be excited about the process and look forward to the following interview.  The candidate isn’t buying a used car. Candidates are buying a dream and a future.  Even if the candidate isn’t qualified, my goal is to have the candidate walking out of the interview thinking, “I WANT TO WORK FOR THAT COMPANY!!” 

Seattle is a small town. We may not be able to hire on this day, but the candidate could refer us to someone else. We may be able to work with that person in the future when our needs are different.  The last thing I want is a candidate walking out of the interview process thinking, “Those guys were jerks,” and then telling all of their friends about how they didn’t like our company.  Candidates can be our evangelists and customers.  We have all told our friends and family about the best and worst interview experiences we have gone through.

Putting candidates on the spot

If the candidate is ordered to “Tell me about yourself” in the first few minutes of an interview, it puts the candidate on the spot. The company may not hear the candidate’s entire story.  Subconsciously, the candidate is put on the defense.   Yes, it is an opportunity to talk about skill sets, accomplishments, etc, but there is no direction with this question.  There may be situations where we want to stress a candidate and see how they perform. After the interview, I will make sure they know the business reason for the stress. This way, they understand why it was done. It doesn’t reflect our culture/company as poorly.  When hiring for attorneys, PR, sales, or business development, this tactic may come up.  These are stressful positions where a significant element of the position is pitching the company to resistant listeners. 

Get to know the candidate

I prefer to get to know someone personally before I get to know them professionally.  This sets the tone and shows a bit of discretion and professionalism.  I explained my role and how long the interview would last. Making the candidate know that I want this to be an interactive session is important.  If the candidate is nervous, I will try to ease their mind by talking just a bit more about what I like about the company, why I joined it, and why I continue to stay.

I want the candidate to be comfortable with us.  Other ways to ask the “Tell me about yourself
question:

• “What are you most proud of professionally or personally?”.  If the candidate answers with a personal achievement like their kids, their family, etc, I can follow up with “What are you most proud of professionally?”
• “What inspired you to apply for the position?  Why did you choose the school they attended?” All of these questions can be asked with a curious tone vs. an antagonistic one.

Get the candidate talking about what they are comfortable with

That being said, “Tell me about yourself” is usually one of the first interview questions all candidates are presented with.  Have your elevator pitch down and anticipate it.  Every candidate should be prepared for it.  One Nasty way a candidate can get around this is to,
“Set The Tone of the Interview.”
As the candidate, after the initial chit-chat, say something to the effect:

“Thanks for taking the time to meet with me. I have been looking forward to this since I talked with the recruiter.  I don’t know if you have had a chance to review my resume, but I am happy to answer any questions you may have about myself, OR  I am happy to give you some background and then answer any questions you may have.”

It is very difficult to say “no” when given a choice.  You are giving the interviewer a choice.  I can justify this question to the Sales and Biz Dev candidates because they are being interviewed to “sell” on demand.  But if I am doing my job right, I should be able to get this story in a way that doesn’t come across as condescending or antagonistic.

If you are interviewing for a position, be prepared for the question.  Some form of this question will be asked. Hopefully, you will get the civilized version.

See you at the after party,

HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky,

and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone who is good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

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